The Digester
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California sheriff seizes more ballots, defies state officials

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco ordered new seizures of ballot materials in a disputed probe of alleged voter fraud, prompting lawsuits from the state attorney general and voting rights groups contesting the legal basis and public impact of his actions.

Mar 27th 2026 · United States

Insights

  • Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican running for governor, seized 426 additional boxes of ballot materials after earlier taking about 650,000 ballots from a special election.
  • Bianco is conducting a criminal probe into alleged voter fraud after a local group claimed a 45,896 vote discrepancy while state officials say the actual difference was 103 votes.
  • Attorney General Rob Bonta sued Bianco, saying the search warrants lacked sufficient evidence and ordering the sheriff to pause the investigation and turn over records.
  • Voters represented by the UCLA Voting Rights Project asked the California Supreme Court to block Bianco’s recount of last year’s Proposition 50 vote.
  • A three-judge panel denied Bonta’s bid to stop the recount and told the attorney general to seek relief in a lower court.
  • State officials condemned the seizures as lacking credible evidence and risking public trust while Bianco’s office defended the investigation as lawful.

Sources